Customer Service Research is a Check Fraud Scam New York, New York

Verbatim Letter:

Reference ID No. ### ###### RE: OFFER TO PARTICIPATE IN A PAID SURVEY AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE EVALUATOR

Our online data source has identified you as a candidate interested in additional income. Therefore we are pleased to invite you to participate in a paid survey in your area of residence as a Product/Service Evaluator. We will compensate you a $300.00 flat participation wage for your time and travel expenses.

This program is designed to seek real people opinions about various products or services. You will visit selected retail stores, restaurants and carious other commercial establishments, making purchase and evaluating the level of customer service, store location and appearance as well as product quality. We are currently running a survey for WESTERN UNION, a global leader in international transfer services, and a survery for one of these major retail outlets: BEST BUY, K-MART or WALMART. We would like to gather your honest and productive opinion on their services. Your opinion and suggestions alongside others will be compiled and submitted to these business for evaluations in order to see what aspects of their services need improvements.

***Enclosed is an Official Check that provides you the funds you need to execute your Survey***

The funds needed for this survey have been pre-arranged and enclosed in this letter. This includes the participation wage and the funds needed for completing the survey assignments. You are NOT required to use your own funds to finance any service intended for the purpose of this survey. You have 48 hours to complete this survey once the funds are available.

Below is the breakdown of the enclosed funds:
Participation wage................................................................$300.00
Western Union Transaction funds.........................................$875.00
Western Union service fee charge.........................................$75.00
Retail Store (Best Buy, K-Mart or Walmart)............................$250.00
TOTAL....................................................................................$1,500.00

To carry out this survey, you are required to deposit the enclosed CHECK at your local bank, take the cash, minus your participation wage, and do the following:

-Pose as a potential customer sending money through Western Union using the available options of the service. Your coordinator will provide you with a computer generated Receiver Name as well as a Destination City and Country (Please note you do not need an address to send a Western Union transaction). This will enable you to gather a detailed opinion on the quality of service rendered during the transaction. Every little detail during the transaction is very crucial to filling out the enclosed survey questionnaire sheet.
-Choose one of the selected retail stores and go purchase merchandise worth the allocated amount for the survey. You can purchase anything you want from any of their departments, and whatever merchandise you purchase, is yours to keep as an added bonus for participating. Again pay attention to every little detail.

Upon completion of this assignment, please call your Survey Coordinator on our toll free number, or call 1-647-832-0409 to verify completion of Survey. You will be given a Representative ID and instructions needed complete and fax questionnaire sheet and all required receipts.

Sincerely,

RONALD RILEY
Senior Vice President

(End of letter)
(Second page contains phony survey.)
(Accompanying this phony letter was a check for $1500 from Finance Center Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 26501, Indianapolis, IN 46226.)